Page 13 of Squatch Out!
“Why didn’t you just bring her back down with you?” My eyes snap open to find an angry bearded man standing in front of me. His fists are clenched at his sides, and he’s trembling with rage.
I look over at where Owen is watching but not intervening.
I wonder who this guy is to her. A boyfriend? My nostrils flare when I scent him. I didn’t catch his scent on her when I was carrying her over my shoulder, and he isn’t carrying her scent now. A relative? No, there is no familial scent and no resemblance. Just a friend, I decide. Except, the thought that there might be more, or that there was ever anything more between them has me grinding my molars.
Something like jealousy bristles under my skin, and I remind myself thatI should not have, nor do I want, any claim on this woman. My god, imagine the mess dating a bigfoot enthusiast would cause throughout thesasq’etscommunity.
Unclenching my jaw, I say, “It’s too dangerous in the dark.”
The man folds his arms across his chest and narrows dark eyes at me. Clearly not buying my explanation. “What were you doing up there that you were able to find her, anyway?”
The lie comes easier than I expect. “I was heading home from patrolling and heard screaming. When I got to her, she was alone. Frightened, but unharmed. That part of the mountain is rugged, and it wouldn’t have been safe to bring her down, so I took her to a cave that was closer and easier to get to.”
The man still looks skeptical, so I decide to try appealing to him: “Look. I’ve lived here most of my life, and I know these mountains better than anyone. The cave she’s in has five-star accommodations compared to your tents. She’ll be fine for the night. There are warm blankets, a wood stove, and food if she’s hungry.”
As Olivia’s friend sizes me up, I can’t help doing the same. I’m well over a head taller than him, but he’s stocky, with a thicker build. Still, he wouldn’t have a chance against me thanks to my preternatural strength.
“And she’s alright? She wasn’t hurt?” he asks, letting go of some of his bravado.
I nod, trying to reassure him as another man steps up beside him. This guy is lean and lanky, and he gives me a curt nod before dropping a hand on the shorter man’s shoulder.
“See? She’s alright, Tony,” he says quietly. Then he holds his hand out to me. “I’m Brian. We’re not trying to give you trouble; we’re just worried about our girl.”
I swallow down a growl when he calls herour girl,just as Owen steps up beside me. “We’ll bring her back down as soon as it’s light,” my brother promises them.
Both men nod, and my gaze wanders behind them, to the third man who is still standing by the fire. He isn’t paying attention to any of this, nor does he seem to be at all concernedthat Olivia is missing. Instead, his attention is focused on the trees.
“Darren,” Brian calls out, and the man by the fire snaps his attention back to us. Brian has to wave him over, and even then, he hesitates before turning away from the forest.
“This is Darren. He played the recording that brought the—the thingout of the forest that grabbed Olivia.”
The recording. I’ve been so focused on the woman, I forgot all about the strange howls that started this whole thing. “So. Tell me what happened here tonight,” I ask the tall blond man who was so reluctant to join us.
“You already talked with Olivia. Didn’t she tell you?” he snaps, looking like he’d rather be anywhere else.
“She did,” I lie cautiously, “but we like to get all viewpoints during an investigation. If we’ve got a bear out here attacking campers, we?—”
“It wasn’t a bear,” Darren cuts me off. His blue eyes gleam with anger, cutting through the darkness.
“Excuse me?” I force my voice to sound like I’m surprised, but in my mind, I’m rolling my eyes and thinkinggreat.
There is something about his guy that isn’t sitting well with me. He knows more than he should, in a dangerous way.
“I said it wasn’t a bear,” Darren repeats.
“Then what was it?” I have to work to keep my expression mild.
“It was a sasquatch.” He says it matter-of-factly. Most people would be embarrassed to admit that was what theythoughtthey saw. Not this dude.
“Look, sir.” I carefully school my expression to look dismissive. It’s mylet’s humor the camperslook, and I’ve had years to perfect it. “There is no such thing as?—”
“That thing that came out of the trees was no bear. It walked upright, just like a man, with his dick swinging, before hegrabbed Olivia and ran off with her. You call that whatever you want, but it wasn’t a bear.”
I can feel Owen’s eyes boring into the back of my head at Darrens mention of my dick, and I know I’ll get an earful later.
Stepping back, I give Darren a nod. “We’ll be sure to be on the lookout for a horny squatch, then.” The heat of Owen’s glare turns to laser beams at my snarky comeback.
“Is that all?” Darren grumbles. I don’t miss the way his eyes keep darting into the trees, like he’s expecting the squatch to come storming back through them at any moment.
